Call to The Behind the Scenes Pic of the Day. I know this hurts. Call to the Behind the Scenes Pic of the Day now.

Much like Jurassic Park, Terminator 2 hit me at the perfect age. Parents today wouldn’t consider it a family movie (hell, probably parents at the time too if I’m going to be honest), but we were big Terminator fans in my household. The film holds the distinction of being the very first movie I saw more than once in a theater and that wasn’t my call, although I was more than happy to see it again, that just goes to show how much my folks loved the movie, too. They never rewatched films in the theater.

It’s kind of a different era… Can you imagine an R-rated film today have mass market merchandising aimed at kids? There was a line of Terminator 2 toys, trading cards, pinball machines, arcade games and clothing. And when I say toys, I don’t mean Neca toys aimed at adult kids, but real deal sold-at-Toys-R-Us for kid kids toys. I had ‘em!

It’s a helluva thing to think back on.

Today’s pic features Robert Patrick being fitted with his shotgun wounds by effects technicians John Rosengrant and Richard Landon from the big finale.

Thanks to the Practical Effects Group for unearthing this one! Click to enlargen.

If you have a behind the scenes shot you’d like to submit to this column, you can email me at quint@aintitcool.com.

Tomorrow’s pic is also from the second film in a series and one that I particularly love!

The effect of Patrick's terminator going liquid and morphing through the hole in the helicopter window is still sick. Can't help but think of GnR's Use Your Illusion I and II whenever I see something on T2. The '90s rocked...literally.

T2 has it all. Great direction, a well written script, unforgettable performances (in particular by Robert Patrick, Linda Hamilton, and Edward Furlong) and FUCKING OUTSTANDING special effects done by Stan Winston and ILM.
And Quint is spot on about the hype and mass appeal of the movie. You had lines from the theaters that wrapped around to the parking lots, and most of those people were families. When I went to see T2 back in '91, I was suprised to see so many kids in the rows of the auditorium. Very impressionable experience. That scene in particular where Sarah Conner dreamed about the nuclear explosion in L.A. left everybody in stunned silence.
What a film.

My dad was going to see it with some of his friends and one of the guys was really trying to convince me to come along, but i was afraid it was going to be scary. I regretted that decision a lot, even that very evening. I didn't see it til several years later, when I was 11 or 12.

Although it's weird to have to compare them. Both different, both amazing, both important films for their time; but T2 has the greater character work, more attention to detail, and by way of its script probably strives to achieve more, and as it pulls it off, is therefore the better film. Oh, and it also has Schwarzenegger’s greatest onscreen performance outside of True Lies, which he's also very good in. Tell me one other actor working today who could pull off the t-800, make him both menacing and childlike without it looking ridiculous. You can tell Cameron's at the height of his confidence, and the film feels both epic and intimate thanks to his direction and some great character writing.
Oh, and anyone who says otherwise can go and suck their mother's cock.

...but if it were released today, people would be bitching about the "pussy" addition of a little kid and Ahnuld swearing not to kill anyone. Aside from a few moments of gore (mainly Arnold pulling the skin off his robo-arm) and the language, it's pretty much a PG-13 movie in tone. Hell, Terminator: Salvation seemed more like an R than T2 does.

I remember my father took me and three friends, back when you could take a kid to see an R rated movie I guess and no one gave a shit, so long as the parent was going in too.
This was the one for me. A lot of people my age were talking in the JP4 TB about how Jurassic Park changed their perception of the movie-going experience -- well, this was mine.
I remember leaving the theater, and my giant Cherry Coke was still full. Completely watered down because I hadn't touched it.
Great movie.

Even my younger self thought those things looked silly and pasted-on.
Loved Patrick in this film and thought it was a clever way for the film to go - to not try to out-macho Arnold, as most films would have done.
I think Aliens was worlds better, but this film was a good time at the time and had some pretty remarkable imagery.

Not really.
I was so pumped for this movie, but was afraid I would get carded. The theater I went to was in between a high school and a major college and was notorious for carding teenagers. Not on this night though, I guess my scruffy 16 yr old whiskers were good for something.
This was a fucking event at the height of Arnold's popularity. I looooooved Terminator (still do) and was pasted to my seat for the duration. Looking back I often joke about whiny Furlong, but it's not enough to taint the film. That memory is bulletproof.

I was a projectionist for Cinemark in Danville, KY. We got this teaser in and I immediately put it on a reel to watch. When I watched it I thought, "people are going to go nuts over this!" And I was right. Many people (in that age of no internet connections) had no idea a sequel was in the works. I remember the first night I put it in front of a movie. It was a packed house. I started it and went into the auditorium to hear the crowd reaction.
It was the assembly-line teaser where the t-800 was being built. I remember the crowd was silent through most of it, but when the closeup of the skull came on the screen, there was a bit of rumbling. Some people thought they recognized it. At the end, though, when the skin went onto the endoskeleton, and everybody saw it was Arnold, the whole place erupted in cheers. EVERYBODY wanted a sequel to The Terminator and the crowd reaction confirmed it.

Neither is better. I just checked Wikipedia and it said that, so it's apparently factual (who knew).
I will say, with all the hi-tech shenanigans goin' on in post-production (CGI? right? is that the term?), this film's final action scene on the freeway will probably not be matched for awhile, in terms of reality, i.e. the physics of cars, as all that shit is done with impossible camera moves, photographed against giant walls of lime...sorta the same way we'll never again see a true epic like Lawrence of Arabia, where you know there were thousands of goddamn extras and camels and horses in a real desert on that day. For instance, "Wanted" is a CGI nightmare of irreality.
I don't even understand why audiences get excited in action scenes anymore, you can tell it's mostly fake. WTF! (What the frito?)

Neither is better. I just checked Wikipedia and it said that, so it's apparently factual (who knew).
I will say, with all the hi-tech shenanigans goin' on in post-production (CGI? right? is that the term?), this film's final action scene on the freeway will probably not be matched for awhile, in terms of reality, i.e. the physics of cars, as all that shit is done with impossible camera moves, photographed against giant walls of lime...sorta the same way we'll never again see a true epic like Lawrence of Arabia, where you know there were thousands of goddamn extras and camels and horses in a real desert on that day. For instance, "Wanted" is a CGI nightmare of irreality.
I don't even understand why audiences get excited in action scenes anymore, you can tell it's mostly fake. WTF! (What the frito?)

Was/is on display in the Seattle Sci-fi museum. When you see it from 6 inches away, you can see that the "bullet holes" are just silver painted foam rubber. What a testament to shot design and editing that you totally buy it on-screen.

But I remember my only complaint about T2 was that once Dyson gets killed, I felt the dramatic tension drop considerably. Wasn't Skynet pretty much doomed at that point? He invented all the important stuff, didn't he?
Either way, this is definitely a classic. I still prefer T1, though! I just enjoy Arnie as the bad Terminator more.

T2 is great and holds up.
I too was at that age(14) when it came out and it really was reveolutionary for its time. I know we had the Abyss but no one saw that so when the T-1000 drops through the holes in the elevator, stands up and morphs with that light twisting in the background adding to the wtf atmosphere people really were how shall I say it...in awe.

Robert Patrick things Furlong is "a good looking boy."
Don't drink milk from the carton. There are...penalties.
When you call a friend try to trick them into revealing they don't know their pets name because they might be a Terminator.

And how many of you missed the 4 armed T-1000 flying the the helicopter and reloading his machine gun the first 15 times you saw the movie like I did? Why the hell did they waste that effect in a 2 second shot and not have the T-1000 do more of that kind of shit?
Here it is at the :14 mark and never again:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVc0DoE4tY0
Still a great movie.

The only movie we had that used morphing prior to this was "Willow" in the wand sequence near the end. That was Lucas, and a decent movie.
But T2 set the bar and simultaneously raised it.
We had NEVER seen anything like this before. And the CGI wasn't over the top or in your face. It was subtle, essential and effective.
When the T1000 melted through the prison bars is when my jaw, and my father's jaw dropped at the same time.
When he poured himself into the cockpit of the helicopter, morphed into a silver version of himself as the motorcycle cop, and you can see the reflection of the co-pilot cop in his silver...we were awestruck. (and look again as he is pouring into the cockpit...his silver very briefly looks like an Alien)
When he freezes from the liquid nitrogen and explodes was amazing, but even more amazing....that was a practical effect...not CGI.
T2 changed everything and deserves all of the kudos for doing so. It was to CGI what Star Wars was to Science-Fantasy.
-- End of Line --

Also the Terminator 3D ride at Universal? was fucking spectacular.
That massive spider, also the fact that it used 3 massive 3D screens that filled your field of view, though I remember the screens to your left and right 'rise' out of the floor unexpectedly.
Very clever stuff.

I couldn't agree more. In today's world everyone would be talking about how it was pussified because it didn't have boobs, didn't have enough action, Arnie didn't get any good kills, the kid (who was freaking amazing) and the lack of boobs.
However, it remains one of the best action films of all time. The pacing, the kick-ass GNR song, the humor, the heart and even the brains of this movie were all in high gear. Great stuff!

I was staying with my cousins in San Diego at the time. I remember the hype leading up to T2 and remembering how many times I had watched the original Terminator growing up. (I believe I was 11) My family in SD were kinda squeeky clean christians so they did now allow underage kids the privilege of watching R-rated movies. This blew my mind. All I had to do was cover my eyes whenever a booby shot came onscreen.
Before it came out I got the cards and this movie effex magazine which I can't remember it's name for the life of me. It had all kinds of cool quotes and shots fromt he film. (even some BTS pics) Everytime that Guns and Roses song came on (You could be mine) I would be glued to the screen. When it finally came out my aunt and uncle when to see it first to determine if it was appropriate for me and my cousin to go and see. Luckily for us they loved it and the following week we were taken to see it.
Now this isn't my earliest walk in experience (that goes to TMNT 1) but it was probably right up there with the experience. We got to the movie late, about 20 min. The ticket person sold us tickets to the next showing. My aunt then took us into the one that had already started. We got our seats at about the time they get to Pescadero Hospital. Which is still the first 3rd of the movie. I was able to jump right into the film from what I've read in my magazine and in my cards. Then it ended. Then it started up again and I got to watch it from the begining. For TMNT I was probably a little too young to understand the concept of the event movie. But when I seen T2 I was able to relish in the juices that make fanboys. You have a sequel to a movie that you love, and you get a worthy continuation of their story. I never thougtht Furlong was whiny, but then again I was younger than him and wished that I was JC. That I had a Terminator of my own. I did hate that he promised not to kill anyone but thought the T-1000 made up for the body count. Still love it over all the other Terminators.

Cameron's use of it premiered in 'The Abyss' (189) with the water cruising around and mimicking Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio's face . . . which was a leaps and bounds improvement on the effect in 'Willow'. Those leaps and bounds were then improved upon in T2.
Just me, being a dick about dates. You're welcome.

Fantastic film, that holds up extremely well (even the CGI).
I was really into CG leading up to this movie, attended events like SIGGraph and was aware of what was happening on the tech side of things, but nothing had done like CGI in T2 before. Absolutely jaw dropping in the theater in 1991.
Anyway, it instantly became one of my all time favorite movies and I wound up buying it multiple times. I own(ed) it on:
VHS (a nice boxed set, still have it)
LaserDisc
DVD
DVD boxed edition (with T1, extended cuts)
... and now own it on Blu-ray :)

This does everything a great sequel can - expands the universe, ups the stakes. There was a real sense of impending doom and long odds against the protagonists. And the effects at the time were groundbreaking.
It should've wrapped up the Terminator saga, but they just had to keep fucking with it.
Kinda like Aliens in that way.

Anyone who thinks he is needs their head examined.
Lloyd killed Phantom Menace dead anytime he was onscreen.
Furlong's performance hit a few bum notes but overall felt like a real teenage kid with issues.
No contest.

Like, if Sarah Conner could escape that easily from a mental institution why hadn't she done it before?
How come she instinctively knows that John Conner's in danger? Even the Kyle Reese dream sequence in the director's cut doesn't explain that one...
Also, the whole "failing to kill Miles Dyson - but destroying CyberDyne instead" thing bugs me. I know there's the whole "The future is not set" thing going on with it, but the previous film stated that despite The Terminator's attempt on her life, Kyle Reese was John Connor's father. Therefore, it NEEDED to happen and was already part of history leading up to Judgment Day. So history wasn't actually being changed at all. The events of the film were PART of the history - and that was the twist at the end.
So with all that in mind, how was it possible for her to suddenly decide she's going to change the future? Isn't it impossible? Those were the rules set by the first film after all.
I don't HATE the plotline - T2 is an awesome film - but in the cold light of day it just doesn't make any sense. And yeah, it gives it a hopeful, almost happy ending - but do we need that? Does everything have to end on a high note? I love a downbeat ending.
You know, a lot of people won't agree - but I actually like "Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines" simply because it undoes the ending of "Terminator 2: Judgment Day". The war still happens, and the film is set on the VERY DAY of the impending strike. Whilst it's an inferior sequel - I like the way it restores the doom and gloom of James Cameron's original. Apparently James Cameron quite liked it too.
I also quite like "Terminator Salvation". I always wanted a "future war" Terminator movie and whilst it wasn't quite what I wanted as an audience member - it had some nice moments.

A couple of things stand out for the first time:
- how the T-800 knew it could intercept John in that service hallway at the mall
- why every time the T-1000 changes shapes it always reverts to Robert Patrick for some reason (I suppose that could be default programming, but if it can be anyone or thing it just seems a little odd)
Add those to the other nagging little glossed-over points in the script...it's still a great film, but this is the kind of nitpicky stuff we crucified "Prometheus" over, yet Cameron seems to get a pass.
Not saying "Prometheus" was anywhere near as good as T2 overall...and that script has a lot more soft spots and half-baked moments...it's just interesting.

Which is sadder? A person saying first (since it's such a rarity for those like me that don't frequent a lot of forums) or someone out of the blue calling that person a rude name simply for saying first? It's that elitist, snotty attitude that turns people off of the talkbacks.

I had loads of em. Fair enough they were based on the Dark Horse comics (Snake Alien?! How would a facehugger manage that?) but it was still from an R-rated (or 18 in the UK) franchise. They did Predator toys as well, never had any of those though. My mate had some Terminator 2 figures though, think there was a T-800 with a glow-in-the-dark endoskeleton if I remember correctly. Precious memories.

Well, he actually does replicate her without killing her which provides the final confrontational moment between the 1000 and the 800.
However, that is a good question and there is an answer.
I could be wrong about this but in both material I've read and also more clearly shown in the longer cut of the movie on the dvd/blu, the T-1000 was significantly damaged after being frozen in the liquid nitrogen and then blown to bits by the 800.
In the theatrical release - you see this after the 1000 and 800 fight and the 1000 smashes that track mounted column into the 800's head and then spears him with a long metal rod..as he walks away, you see him look up and a silver rivulet of the poly-metal rolls over his face. This was a minor indicator of damage.
In the extended cut, it's actually clearly shown as the 1000 is going to walk up stairs and actually gets stuck - his feet inadvertently morph into the metal grating he's walking on and I believe his hand also melds into the stairway railing. The 1000 looks back in puzzlement and forces his limbs to move.
From this - I always inferred that the reason the 1000 didn't just copy and kill Sarah was because he didn't know for sure if he could copy. Why not just use the voice then? Same reason presumably.
But then he actually does imitate her and her voice (role was actually played by Linda Hamilton's twin sister) and yet manages to pull it off - so it would seem there's a bit of narrative going on without being exhibited to the viewer but there's a larger point here too...
That point is one of exposition vs inference - do we need to have it spelled out how the T-800 explained the "detailed files" on the Dyson's and that's how John Conner knew the name of the little boy? Or should one infer that based on the scenes presented in the movie?
The "damaged T-1000" scenario is a little tighter than that tho in the theatrical version it's only marginally implied he's damaged in one scene, post frozen explosion moment - whereas it is more than clear in the extended cut (and hence the uncut script) and that is why the T-1000 did what it did - it was damaged and might not successfully pull off transforming and imitating Sarah.
It's not bullet-proof but if it is a plot-hole, it's a rather small one. To me, anyway.

why not have Patrick play the cop the T-1000 dispatches in the beginning?
Because it might've tipped the movie's hand as to the true nature of Robert Patrick in the film (we don't even know he kills the cop at first, might've just disabled him)...at that point, we aren't sure who's who and who wants what, unless we read spoilers which were not nearly so prevalent in 1991 as they today.
So while I get the reasoning, it's a bit of a cheat by Cameron, fudging his own rules. A minor point , but like I said, interesting. To me, at least.

This was the movie where I made a formal break with spoilers.
I purposefully missed all trailers and commercials (would literally close my eyes and plug my ears mumbling under my breath in movie theaters).
And, consequently, I had no idea that Arnie was the good guy and Patrick the bad guy.
I was probably the only one in the theater who didn't know and likely one of a few thousand who didn't know (but still cared).
It was beautiful.
And for anything I'm dying to see, is now absolute - I will avoid any and all spoilers and the end result is a much better movie going experience.

I saw it twice at the cinema as well. First film I ever saw twice.
However, since then I don't feel it's aged as well as the first one. Maybe it's because it's held up to such tight scrutiny.
I have always felt its about 10 minutes too long towards the end. If I'm watching it on TV I tend to find myself nodding off to sleep around the helicopter/police truck chase part.

This is the cool part about any time travel movie. They creates more questions than they answer.
Example: If Sarah Connor undid the future, and destroyed Cyberdyne, and Miles Dyson dies as a result of that... Then there would never be a future war, and John Connor would never have to send Kyle Reese back and he would have never impregnated Sarah Connor thereby she would have never given birth to John Connor.
Hence....John Connor would have just disappeared at the end of the movie.
Original Ending Idea:
I heard once that the original ending was for the Terminator to be destroyed in the steel. Then the screen would go black and fade up to a younger Sarah Connor riding her moped to her waitress job at the burger joint as she had done at the beginning of The Terminator.
So everything would have reset and the timeline would start over.
THAT is how it should have been.
However.....
If you apply the alternate timeline theory, once The Terminator and Kyle Reese were sent back to 1984 they would have instantly created an Alternate 1984 where Sarah Connor no longer follows her original path.
Let's call that (as per Back to the Future) 1984A.
The movie we watched was 1984A and everything that happened in that timeline followed the story of the movie.
Meanwhile, in 1984, the original Sarah Connor was following her own path and working in the burger joint, getting blown off for her date, and living her normal hum-drum life. That would never have changed.
Meanwhile, 1984A was still happening in the alternate timeline.
But here is the crazy part....
I am going to use 1995 for Terminator 2 even though the movie came out in 1991. Why? Because John Connor is supposed to be 10 years old and the only way he could be 10 is if the movie took place in 1995 (he was born in 1995 since Sarah got preggers in May 1984.
In 1995, when the T-1000 and the good Terminator went back in time, they would have gone back to 1984A. From that point they would have created 1991A which would have skewed off from 1991 where Sarah is a badass.
So Sarah is in a crazy house. She is a bad ass. She is in 1995. She probably would have still escaped from Pescadero hospital because, as she was running for the elevator, she would have never stopped to run the other way thereby being tackled by the security guard in the hallway (bad ass tackle by the way).
However..... When the T-1000 killed that first guard that was drinking coffee, that could have changed Sarah's escape because with that guard there is no way Sarah would have been able to take over that security station to escape. Even with the needle in Silberman's neck the guard could have gotten off a shot and winged her. But, he also could have been a pussy and put down his weapon like everyone else did.
So....Sarah probably still would have escaped and God knows where she would have gone. Most likely she would have tried to blow up Cyberdyne again and been locked up in maximum security. John Connor would have been busted and put in a juvenile detention center and it would all end there.
1995A: Sarah escapes from the hospital because the good Terminator shows up and basically helps her break out.
Now....in 1995A, Sarah destroys Cyberdyne, Dyson dies, and then the good Terminator is melted in the steel.
That changes 1995A and John Connor would still exist because he came from 1984A after Sarah shagged Kyle Reese.
So....using that theory, John Connor would still exist in 1995A and that would continue on until the T-X comes back to 2004.
Now you have 2004A and a whole new timeline with the John Connor, still off the grid and following the plot of the movie.
But...you would have the original 2004 where John Connor wipes out on his motorcycle, goes to the animal hospital and gets caught. Since there is no Terminator to break him out or T-X to pursue him John Connor would have probably been let out by Katherine Brewster because she recognizes him from the kiss in Mike Kripkie's basement. Then John would have either disappeared off the grid again, or tried to pursue Kate Brewster. However, without all of the action and drama she probably would not have developed an emotional bond and that, as they say, is that.
Of course...if John is getting involved with Katherine, and finds out her dad is working on the Cyberdyne missile defense then he may try to destroy it after all but would not have much luck without the Terminator.
So 2004A creates that new timeline which leads to Terminator Salvation.
Of course...once you figure in the Sarah Connor Chronicles TV Show....you have so many people doing time jumps that each jump is changing the timeline which would create alternate timelines for each jump.
And that would just be crazy.
So...would there ever be a way to reset the 1984 timeline back to Sarah Connor riding the moped to work? Nope.
The only way to do that is not have The Terminator or Kyle Reese jump back in time in the first place.
So in summary:
1984 - Boring Sarah continuing her boring life.
1984A - Pregnant, survivalist Sarah, then in mental hospital...then arrested and put in max security and John put in Juvie.
1995A - Sarah destroys Cyberdyne and lives happily ever after with John until she dies of leukemia and John goes off the grid and meets Katherine Brewster and most likely gets arrested after it all.
2004A - John and Katherine try to stop the T-X and Cyberdyne defense system controlled by Katherine's father.
Then the Sarah Connor Chronicles which screws it all up with a ton of timeline fractures.
-- End of Line --

- how the T-800 knew it could intercept John in that service hallway at the mall
--------
We see him in the Mall, he's following him. The kid ran off, and the T800 knew where he was going.
( and more importantly he knew who the T-1000 was )
- why every time the T-1000 changes shapes it always reverts to Robert Patrick for some reason (I suppose that could be default programming, but if it can be anyone or thing it just seems a little odd)
--------
The T-1000 had to have a chosen shape before he traveled through time. Perhaps that is his "native" mode, or he simply picked it before he traveled. This has two functions... a it makes strategic sense if he is seen after he appears. And of course it has the practical story telling purpose that Cameron doesn't want to give away who is the "good guy" and who is the "bad guy". The T-1000 arrives in our time period almost exactly the same way Reese does. He even appears to the audience just punch the cop (IIRC) instead of killing him like a T-800 would do.

I think at the point in the film where he could copy Sarah, he doesn't kill her because we're seeing the deviousness of the character. He almost enjoys the pain he gives her. A far departure from the tireless emotionless T-800.
We get hints of the T-1000's more "emotional" responses throughout the film if you think about it. We see mostly levels of anger from being annoyed to furious, but here I think we also see the desire to inflict pain, and torture.
He should have simply killed her on the spot, emotionlessly and moved on to John. But he doesn't and I think that's important to the story and not an accident.

To be 12 years old out with my cousin and uncle to see this beast! That was the only time we walked out of the theater and then right back in for the next showing. Nothing else mattered. Absolutely BADASS!

First of all, if those two extra arms were indeed a mistake, that would mean that the T-1000 was supposed to be reloading his machine gun with his (only) two hands and not flying the helicopter with either. This is impossible as the helicopter would crash instantly. A helicopter is not like a car, you can't just take your hands off the "wheel" for a while while it continues flying straight ahead and at a set altitude.
And second of all, and most importantly, there's no way Cameron would have EVER let a mistake like that stay in one of his flicks.